14 May, 2009

The Creativity Stimulus

"Deeply rooted in the communities that made Obama's victory possible, these centers understand their work as transformational. Their communities are the most vulnerable to assaults on creativity, but they are also incubators of the most innovative ideas and movements of our time. This "creative communities" approach has created a vigorous and vital alternative to neoliberal and neoconservative versions of change." Jeff Chang from The Nation talking about how places like The Boggs Center are integral in "collevtive leap(s) of imagination."

Speaking of The Nation Magazine and Detroit.

MELTDOWN AND RECOVERY IN DETROITThe Economic Collapse and a People’s Plan for Recovery May 23, 2009, 5pm to 7pmDetroit MICobo Hall 1 Washington Blvd.Moderated by John Nichols of The Nation Magazine

America's economy is in meltdown. The banking system has crashed, millions are losing their homes to foreclosure, and unemployment is skyrocketing. As fears abound that a second Great Depression may be upon us, the crisis is clear—but what is the solution?

Join Congressman John Conyers, lifelong civil rights activist Grace Lee Boggs, bestselling author and Nation contributor Barbara Ehrenreich, Detroit City Councilmember Joann Watson, noted economist and Nation contributor Robert Pollin, long-time Detroit organizer and community leader Elena Herrada, and documentarian and activist Michael Moore* (invited) in a wide-ranging town hall conversation about what caused the economic collapse and how we can find a path to recovery for Detroit and for the country. .

The event marks the publication of Meltdown: How Greed and Corruption Shattered Our Financial System and How We Can Recover (Nation Books) by Katrina vanden Heuvel and the editors of The Nation.

The event will also preview national and local organizing efforts leading up to the 2010 United States Social Forum (USSF), to be held in Detroit. The USSF will provide space to build relationships, learn from each other's experiences, share analysis of the problems our communities face, and bring renewed insight and inspiration. It will help develop leadership and develop consciousness, vision, and strategy needed to realize another world.

Audience questions will be taken, and a book-signing will follow the conversation.